Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Research Questions...

I came across this article today and it seems to be a nice blend of the two topics I'm currently interested in, online collaboration and the educational potential of video games.

The more I ponder this topic, more I think an interesting research question is "To what extent does self-interest play in an online learning community?" It seems that learning that takes place in schools is very isolated. I do my work, the instructor grades my papers, and I receive an individual grade at the end of the term. If I happen to be concerned about what my grade I receive, or am interested in the topic at hand, then I'm probably more likely to listen in class and do the work. But if I'm working with a group of people, then there are more reasons to become involved. Now I have peer pressure. Vanity comes into play. Reciprocation is possible. Suddenly there are more reasons to pay attention and do the work.

And doesn’t the group work closer represent what our jobs our like? Who works in a vacuum? I haven’t been given a ‘test’ in my entire career, but I’ve sure worked on a lot of team projects.

2 comments:

Marion Jensen said...

Thank you very much...

Marion Jensen said...

These are great resources, thank you very much. I actually already own the Gee book, in fact he sent me a copy of his latest version (in word document form) when I wrote to ask him a few questions about something else.

I've also followed Marc Prensky a bit. My first impressions are that he seems to be a bit more on the corporate side of things. Still, he has some interesting things to say.

Still another good book is Simulations and the Future of Learning, by Clark Aldrich. His first chapter tells the readers that if they hope to understand simulations, they must first understand games. He then spends the rest of the book talking about a 'game/simulation' he designed that taught corporate leadership.

Thanks again for these links.